What if kd had already decided hed be going before that even happened tho
That's the same narrative that espn and other media outlets have spun to death. The can't beat em join em excuse. What if he went to GSW because he liked the organizational culture? The comraderie amongst teammates? There were rumblings KD was leaving earlier in that season. Like
@Chree
said maybe he was planning on going there anyway.
whether he decided before or after the wcf, he still joined a conference rival. not just any conference rival, but a historically great conference rival.
he's never going to be able to get that off his record. that's why, when the dubs won the first chip w him, you heard his mom trying to reassure him that he made the right choice, that he did it 'his way'. same reason kd got an IG burner account to argue in the comments. chit burns at him. he knows.
i can't stand espn and haven't watched stephen a or other espn hot take guys in years. i'll admit to watching chris broussard from fox on you tube from time to time. but let's take the media out of it for a second
these chips kd gets w the dubs will always have that mark. same w the dubs 'first' chip in 2015 - they glided thru because all (or almost all) the teams they faced had injuries to their starting pg. that's why lebron will never shake the stigma of shrinking in the finals versus dallas. that's why steph curry's game is always downplayed because of the perception that he's a defensive liability.
guys (or teams) that are even in the discussion of being god tier will be nit picked to death. everything counts. that's just part of success in sports.
that's why, as great as cp0 supposedly is, you NEVER hear comparisons to magic or even isaiah. no rings, so it's stockton (lower level all time greats). despite bill russell having eleven fucking rings, he's not god tier because of the era he played in (buncha white dudes that wouldn't have even sniffed the d-league in the current era)
when you are in the discussion of god tier (jordan, kareem) then every small fucking detail counts.
so kd's achievements won't be discussed, in basketball circles, simply in terms of 'two chips, two finals mvps'. these achievements will be put into context, which will remove him from god tier discussion.
at the end of the day, the dubs are finally relevant. so i'm good w it.